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Residents accuse Fort Myers police of misconduct and urge action on homelessness during public comment
Summary
Several members of the public used the council's public‑comment period to allege police misconduct in individual cases and to urge the council to address homelessness and shelter capacity; commenters said internal affairs investigations were unsatisfactory and asked for greater accountability.
During the public‑comment period, multiple speakers raised complaints about Fort Myers Police Department conduct and called for council action on homelessness.
Clarence (full name not stated) told the council he had filed internal affairs complaints that were returned as "unfounded" and described several incidents he said reflect mistreatment by officers; he said the family felt targeted. "We filed internal affairs. They came back and said it was unfound," Clarence said. Willie Jo Schottmiller urged the council to pursue emergency housing and rehabbing of buildings to provide shelter for people living in cars and on the street. Brenda Lyman also criticized police accountability and internal affairs processes as ineffective.
Council did not take formal action in response to the public comments during the meeting; the public‑comment period is a forum for residents to raise concerns. Next procedural steps (if any) were not recorded in the transcript for these particular complaints.
